Il Duomo. How Filippo Brunelleschi Built the World's Biggest Dome
12/10/2014.
[VIDEO] by National Geographic. Santa Maria del Fiore [Florence] Italy
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
Almost 600 years ago after it was built, Filippo Brunelleschi’s dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy, remains the largest masonry dome ever built. Leaving no plans or sketches behind, some of the secrets of its construction that Brunelleschi pioneered are still an enigma today.
Drawings, Brunelleschi’s Dome. Image courtesy of Il Grande Museo del Duomo.
Brunelleschi’s Dome. Image courtesy of Il Grande Museo del Duomo.
Interior Brunelleschi’s Dome. Vasari’s frescos of Santa Maria del Fiore. Photograph © James Taylor-Foster
Brunelleschi’s Dome. Courtesy of National Greographic. Art: Fernando G. Baptista, Daniela Santamarina, Matthew Twombly, And Elizabeth Snodgrass, Ngm Staff; Kirsten Huntley; Fanna Gebreyesus; Margaret Ng. Text: A. R. Williams, Ngm Staff. Sources: Rowland Mainstone; Riccardo Dalla Negra, University Of Ferrara, Italy; Massimo Ricci, Forum Unesco—University And Heritage, Polytechnic University Of Valencia, Spain; Francesco Gurrieri, University Of Florence.
In 1418 the town fathers of Florence finally addressed a monumental problem they’d been ignoring for decades: the enormous hole in the roof of their cathedral. Filippo Brunelleschi was tasked with building the largest dome ever seen at the time. He had no formal architecture training. Yet experts still don't fully understand the brilliant methods he used in contructing the dome, which tops the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, Italy. This short animation, presented by National Geographic and created by Fernando Baptista and Matthew Twombly, gives an idea of how the dome of the Duomo might have been built. Demonstrating the complexity of the task, made harder due to poor construction prior to Brunelleschi’s commission, this film serves as a reminder of just how long it can take to create something timeless.
Read more about the dome in National Geographic magazine online here.
Producer, Editor and Writer.- Hans Weise.
Art Director.- Fernando G. Baptista.
Art and Animation.- Fernando G. Baptista and Matthew Twombly.
Map and Typography.- Lauren E. James.
Additional Writting.- Jason Orfanon.
Narrator.- Paula Rich.
Research.- Fanna Gebreyesus and Elizabeth Snodgrass.
Special Thanks.- Riccardo Dalla Negra, Massimo Ricci, and Francesco Gurrieri.
